I love wine glass charms -- they add a little whimsy to a party or a moms' night out, and they make it so much easier to distinguish whose glass is whose (especially after a few glasses have been poured and enjoyed). But, the charms can be pricey -- "Ladies Night Wine Class Charms" from Wine Enthusiast sell for $24.95 -- plus, it can be difficult to find charms I like. So, when I saw some cute and simple charms in the jewelry section at my local craft store at the low price of $2.50 for 6, I scooped them up. I also then bought some earring hoops/findings (with rhinestone accents) for $3 Continue reading...
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Hello! MomHomeGuide has been on the Web for a little over a month now, and it's been fun sharing with you all so far! We hope you've been having fun, too. To help spread the word about MomHomeGuide, we now have accounts at Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/momhomeguide), Twitter (@momhomeguide) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/momhomeguide). To help get the word out about MomHomeGuide, we could use your support. If you like what you are reading, please follow us at Twitter and Pinterest, and "like" our page on Facebook. Is there anything about being a mom homeowner that you'd like to read Continue reading...
Is An Open Floor Plan Home for You?
When I purchased my family’s home about 9 years ago, I had no idea about would make for a good family home. It’s not until I had kids (twins) a few months after into moving into our house, did I begin to recognize what home features a mom truly appreciates in a house. For one, I discovered that my home’s open floor plan can be ideal for raising a family. My kitchen looks out into the family room, which made it easy for me to keep an eye on my tots as I cooked in the kitchen. The open floor is also great when we have friends and family over, because it gives us a lot of space in which to Continue reading...
Crafting an Easter Garden Flag for Less Than $3
I am always astonished at how much it costs to purchase small decorative garden flags -- most cost at least $10. So recently, I've taken to making my own garden flags. I don't even have to travel to a local craft store to get the fabric -- I've been purchasing fabric for my garden flags from my local Walmart, which has a fabric section. Most recently, I made a leprechaun garden flag. (The fabric from that flag came from Joann.com.) But now that Easter is coming up, I decided to replace that one with one for the Easter upcoming holiday. So, I went to Walmart and found a cute Easter Bunny Continue reading...
Making Home Cleaning Easy
I have friends coming over for dinner tomorrow night, so that means between today and tomorrow, I have massive amounts of cleaning to do. Not only do I have to scrub the kitchen floors and clean the kitchen counters, but I have to tidy up the downstairs bathroom (floors, counter and toilet), but I also have to vacuum the entire main floor of our home. (Sadly, we have wall-to wall carpeting.) On top of that, I have lots of decluttering to do. My kids love to read, play and draw in the living, kitchen and family rooms, so there are books, pencils, crayons and toys scattered everywhere. Continue reading...
Crafting a Flag for the Garden
With St. Patrick's Day coming up, I wanted to hang a St.Patrick's Day-themed flag in my garden. But I am always surprised at how much those tiny garden flags cost. For instance, a Leprehaun hat garden flag runs about $12 at Amazon.com. So, using the leftover fabric from the leprechaun window valences that I sewed, I created a St. Patrick's day garden flag for my garden this morning. First, I pinned and sewed about .25-inch seams on each side and on the botton of the flag so I wouldn't have any frayed edges. Then, I pinned a two-inch seam on the top of the flag and sewed that, to create Continue reading...
Happy Birthday Girl Scouts!
I am a Girl Scout Mom. My daughters are both Brownies, and I co-lead their Brownie troop with a friend and neighbor. We’ve been Girl Scouting together for almost four years now, so today I’d like to take the time to wish Girl Scouts a happy 100th birthday! Girl Scouts was founded 100 years ago today in 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low founded the first ever Girl Scout troop (of 18 girls) in Savannah, Ga. There are many reasons to like Girl Scouts, such as how the organization fosters self-confidence and community among young girls. Over the years, these are the reasons why I appreciate my Continue reading...
Sewing a Handmade St. Patrick’s Day Curtain Valence
Now that the winter holiday season and Valentine's Day have past, my kids are going through holiday withdrawal. Our once seasonally decorated home is now lacking in fun holiday decor. So, to remedy the situation, I made some leprechaun valences today for St. Patrick's Day, using some cute leprechaun fabric I found at Joanna Fabric and Craft stores. Sewing the valances only took a few minutes, and they definitely add some holiday flair to the kids' bathroom and to our downstairs bathroom off our family room. The below YouTube video offers a great tutorial on how to sew Continue reading...
Organizer Pocket for Fridge Door
To see even less visual clutter on home's fridge door, I decided to follow the advice I found at myschneiderbucket.blogspot.com and create my own refrigerator pocket organizer. The cereal box I had on hand was much smaller than the one she used, so instead of cutting off the top of the box, I cut open the side, so I could have an opening that would fit 8-inch by 11-inch papers. I then found some leftover wrapping paper in green (my favorite color) and wrapped the box like I would any box with wrapping paper. I secured magetic clips to the back to hold up the back of the Continue reading...
Almost Planting Time
Now that my family’s vegetable garden is nearly on its way (I still have to add more soil), I’ve been thinking about what we want to plant this spring. My daughters and I definitely would like to plant some peas. We got a bit of a late start last year (and didn’t plant until about May), so this year we will do it right and plant our peas around St. Patrick’s Day, the traditional pea planting time for much of the Mid-Atlantic states. We had some success with sunflowers in our garden last year, so this year we hope to plant sunflowers again, but BIGGER ones. So, I purchased a few Continue reading...